Mr. Gerry McAlpine (Acting Chairperson of the Committee of Supply): Madam Speaker, the Committee of Supply has adopted certain resolutions, directs me to report the same and asks leave to sit again.

I move, seconded by the honourable member for St. Vital (Mrs. Render), that the report of the committee be received.

Motion agreed to.

Hon. Glen Cummings (Minister of Natural Resources): Madam Speaker, my report will be brief, but I must point out that this flood event is not over. There are still a lot of properties at risk behind the various dikes, both permanent and temporary, that are holding back the Red River.

We have seen the levels in the Red fall a quarter of a foot between Emerson and Ste. Agathe in the past 24 hours, half a foot at St. Adolphe and three-quarters of a foot at the floodway inlet. Levels are being maintained steady in the city of Winnipeg due to the floodway gates being lowered. At Selkirk the river fell about a quarter of a foot.

Environment Canada, however, indicates that there are 15 to 25 millimetres of rain that may have fallen in the Red River Valley from Emerson to just south of Winnipeg. There is a chance of additional showers tonight when a cold front passes through. The rain will slow down the rate of decline in certain areas of the river levels but is not expected to produce any rises unless many areas in the valley receive in excess of 35 millimetres or more. More importantly, Madam Speaker, strong northerly winds are expected to develop late tonight and continue on Thursday. Serious wave action is expected in open areas of the Red River flood plain.

Levels in the Winnipeg area will begin to decline slowly in the next few days, and we hope to have a drop close to one foot by late on Saturday. The Grande Pointe area fell three-quarters of a foot since yesterday. Today's reading, however, was affected by wind, but we believe levels will continue to fall gradually. Near Netley Creek, the levels have fallen slightly, but they could see an expected rise of a foot or more due to strong northerly winds tomorrow.

We must put all of our help and understanding behind those who are manning the dikes and express our appreciation for all of the work that is being done by officials and volunteers alike.

Hon. Frank Pitura (Minister of Government Services): Madam Speaker, in following my colleague the Minister of Natural Resources' statement, a brief update on the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization.

Right now MEMO is in a transitional stage, moving away from a flood mitigation works and maintenance stage to operations primarily involved with the re-entry and recovery process for all those that are affected by this disaster. They are working very hard on re-entry. Re-entry, I think, is a very vital process that has to take place, and we would like to see it expedited as quickly and efficiently as possible. So, to this end, the committee looking after re-entry has sent a guideline for all residents affected by the flooding called After Flooding, and this is going to be distributed through municipal offices and through Canada Post at no cost.

It has also been talked about in recent days about the Roseau First Nations being able to re-enter their community. Now, in respect to the damage to the road which would give them access to their community, the kind of damage that was done to the road, the repair may not be as easily put into place as was first thought, so this could take a number of days before actual re-entry can take place, although the community is dry and ready.

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There is also a co-ordination team that has been set up that will work along with the volunteer agencies with respect to the disposition of financial donations, and all municipal authorities will be consulted in all of these decisions by that committee as well as getting their input.

With respect to the armed forces, the joint forces operation of the army, navy, air force and reserves, the numbers of military personnel deployed in support of flood operations will be reduced by approximately 1,200 persons today or tomorrow, and that is to enable these 1,200 persons to--they are set to be deployed on another assignment, and so it gives them some time at home and also for additional training. However, the personnel that are here are still deployed and continue to assist in dike maintenance and surveillance, security of the flooded areas and as well in rescue-team operations as they were called upon.

In the area of the environment, the Department of Environment is now into discussion with municipal authorities on the issue of their disposal sites that may have been contaminated by flood waters and how to bring these sites back. The question of how to dispose of the sandbags is also being addressed with the municipal authorities so that the sandbags can be disposed of in an orderly fashion.

In the Department of Agriculture, the department is distributing information on stress to staff and farmers as and where required. The Manitoba Emergency Management Organization is continuing to provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week service.

That is my report, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Stan Struthers (Dauphin): I thank the ministers for making their statements to the House again today. Let us all hope that the wind and the rain do not do a lot of damage to the dikes that are placed in position to protect homes in the city today.

I think what we need to do though is make sure that we are absolutely vigilant in keeping our eye on what happens north of the city of Winnipeg from here on in. It is good news to hear that the levels are receding slightly. That is a good sign. Our hopes now are that the water that is moving north does not do a whole lot of damage, but I think we need to be absolutely vigilant in keeping an eye on that water flow that will be heading north into Lake Winnipeg and then spilling out from the lake in the rivers that flow from Lake Winnipeg, because they will have an effect on people living on those rivers in those communities in the northern part of our province.

I too, just briefly, in conclusion, want to congratulate and thank those who are staffing the dikes today as we speak, throughout the night. I think a big thank you needs to go out to those folks who are taking the time to staff the dikes and make sure that there are no breaches and finding the leaks before they become major events in different parts of our communities.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Hon. James McCrae (Minister charged with the administration of The Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation Act): Madam Speaker, I am tabling the 1996 Annual Report for Manitoba Public Insurance.